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Religious Pluralism
There are various interpretations of religious pluralism, the most important being: 1. The true religion is only one but this one absolute truth is not received by one divine prophet. It has been revealed to all prophets in one form or another. In other words, the religions of Islam, Christianity and Judaism represent different aspects of a single truth. The
difference between the aspects is not that they are right or wrong; rather, they differ in point of view. Therefore, all divine religions are the same in legitimacy and each can lead to human happiness. 2. There are many and various truths. This interpretation recognizes all religions and human schools of thought, but considers the truth of one religion different from that of other religions. In other words, it does not believe in a single Right Path but in multiple Right Paths. Thus, it regards all human religions and schools as genuine and parallel paths to human felicity and salvation. As Christian theologian and philosopher John Hick argues, pluralism implies that it is possible to have the conversion of human beings from egoistic to truth (of God)-oriented attitude in different ways within all world religious traditions. In other words, there are various and plural ways for happiness and salvation.2 Of course, the theory of religious pluralism stands against religious exclusiveness which holds that there is only one true religion. Of course, exclusivism may leave some room for happiness of followers of some other religions. For example, from a Christian point of view, Christianity is the only true religion, but since followers of other religions have been looking for the divine will and submitted to it, they are actually harmonious with the spirit and message of Christianity, despite the fact that they have not known Christianity or knowingly repudiated it. Karl Rahner, an advocate of this theory, has called such people the unknown Christians. 3
be worthy of it and who would be deprived of this privilege. Christian scholars, including Hick, respond to this question in different ways: 1) exclusiveness, 2) inclusiveness, and 3) religious pluralism. The exclusivists believe that truth and felicity exist in only one religion and there is only one inclination to one religion through which one may reach felicity. That is, through the belief in the death of Jesus as a sacrifice, forgiving peoples sins and participating in the sacrifice is the only factor of felicity. The adherents of inclusiveness believe that although Christianity is the only way of salvation, all could step in this path provided that they adhere to the rules of the religion and sincerely follow it. Christians who are good doers and follow the teachings of Jesus Christ are also regarded as worthy of salvation. In proving this, several justifications are given. For example, one justification is that other religions are not absolutely void and have somehow benefited from the truth and eternal happiness. However, there is only one main road; other roads are close to the main one and their followers are subject to salvation. But religious pluralism states all religions can be a source of felicity and salvation. In other words, truth and felicity may be with all religions and all their followers might benefit it. All religions are different aspects of one truth; therefore, they are different ways to a single truth. Followers of other religions are not subject to punishment. Therefore, religious pluralism, in response to the principle of salvation, went beyond and introduced the genuineness of non-Christian religions. The adherents of this attitude severely criticized the claim of the genuineness of a particular religion in order to open the gate of Heaven to followers of non-Christian religions. They believed that all religions are true and it guides their followers to the final truth. Thus, currently in the West the issue of religious pluralism is beyond the principle of felicity. Therefore, it is essential to elaborate on the Islamic idea about the two issues of the principle of salvation and the genuineness of all religions and with a look into the religion, study the two issues under the one title of Islam and the genuineness of religions. Islamic sources will be used to elucidate the Islamic idea in this regard. Then the relationship between this issue and the doctrine of Mahdi will be analyzed.
Islam. It also criticizes those who refute the Quran and the Prophet of Islam.6 Therefore, the belief that all religions are true or that each of them carries a part of the truth and thus is a source of salvation for its followers even at the present age is not acknowledged by Islam. Islam does not recognize all religions as true. It condemns the exclusive claim of the Jews and the Christians as mentioned in various verses in the Holy Qur'an: The Jews said that only the Jews would enter Paradise and the Christians said only the Christians. This is only a void wish of theirs; say to them bring evidence if you are truthful.7 Nevertheless, Islam is exclusive in terms of genuineness but its exclusiveness is different from that of Judaism and Christianity, because the exclusive attitude of Islam in terms of genuineness implies that after Muhammad (S) was called to prophethood, whoever received his message and could understand the content then he or she had to accept the invitation to Islam. The Holy Quran, in The Cattle: 19, quotes the Prophet of Islam: God is witness between me and you, and this Quran has been revealed to me that I may warn you thereby, and whomsoever it may reach Other divine laws such as that of Abraham, that of Moses and that of Jesus Christ have been valid at their own time. It should be noted that Islam is sometimes applied to all divine religions and laws so the religion that each messenger brought from God was Islam. It is also used to refer to the special religion and law of the Prophet Muhammad (S). The former is called the eneral Islam and the latter is called the particular Islam.8 Therefore, the truth of all divine religions is one which is revealed to all prophets who possessed a law. What has been revealed to them is the assertion of God's Unity and submission to the Absolute One. Thus, it is erroneous to think that the truth of religions has been completely out of the reach of the prophets and that the religions have not been completely revealed to them. Neither is it true that when there is a difference among the divine religions it is due to difference of opinion amongst the prophets and the variety of the aspects of the truth. However, the reason to such differences is the difference in mental growth of humanity as well as varying cultural and social conditions Additionally, the difference among the followers of early divine laws and the distortions they were subject to are among the other causes for renewing the divine laws.9 The plurality which exists in religions and divine laws and sources is not relative but ambiguous, the ambiguity of external facts and the ambiguity of human sciences; because the divine laws, depending on the needs of people of different periods, are revealed as various facts in many laws, while common at the same time. Such is the case of prescribing different kinds of medicine for a patient at different stages. A doctor prescribes a particular medicine at each stage. Each medicine in turn has its special effect. It is not the case that some medicine is useful and some other is useless. Therefore, the differences among the divine laws are related to ambiguity in external reality. The same exists in the human sciences since understanding is actually the result of different degrees of understanding of realities, knowledge becomes ambiguous and the differences of opinion among interpreters in interpreting a text are of the same kind.10
According to the Holy Quran, all the monotheistic religions are actually one religion and all prophets invite people to Islam. We read in the Quran: The same religion has He established for you as that which He enjoined on Noah which We have sent by inspiration to thee - and that which We enjoined on Abraham, Moses, and Jesus: Namely, that ye should remain steadfast in religion, and make no divisions therein.11 The truth of Islam in this sense is submitting wholeheartedly to the divine commands. Imam Ali (A) defines Islam in this way: Islam is submission which is certitude which is acknowledgement which is admission which is fulfilment which is to act.12 Thus, the general Islam which is submission to what appears in the form of Abraham's law at the time of Abraham, Moses's law at the time of Moses, Jesus's law at the time of Jesus and it appears in the form of Muhammad's law at the age of the seal of the prophecy. The meaning of Islam at the time of each of the above-mentioned prophets is that the prophet of the time and also earlier prophets should be obeyed. People should have faith in the prophet of the time as well as the prophets before him. Otherwise, he or she would not have obeyed the divine commands. At the present time when Muhammad's law is to be followed since it is the crystallization of the general Islam, every sane person should follow and respond to him when hearing his message. Ibn Arabi, the well-known mystic, also believes in the superiority of Islam over other religions. He insists on exclusiveness, too, since he regards earlier religions as stars compared to the sun of Islam. He explicitly speaks of the expiration of the previous laws.13 In other sources he describes Islam as the soul of religions, the trueth of all truths and the greater and the clearer truth where he is explicit in the idea of the superiority of Islam over other religions.14 The superiority of Islam implies that the existence of a law as the true law in every period in human history is an undeniable fact. The true law at our time is Islam. The soul and essence of all divine laws is the same monotheism in terms of belief and action. The common basis of the invitation of all divine prophets has been monotheism i.e. worship of the absolute One and submission to His will. Some of the commands and prohibitions are common among religions while others are related to cultural and social conditions that change over time. Therefore, the religions contain common as well as individual points but with the advent of Islam as the most complete form of divine revelation and laws, all previous laws are no longer feasible. The Holy Quran is the only one not distorted, since God has promised to guard it from corruption.15 As a matter of fact, this book is not limited to a particular time and place; on the contrary, it should be followed until the Day of Resurrection and throughout the world. With the advent of Islam, the divine religion has reached a state of perfection.16 Thus that would be the last prophet appointed by God.17 Therefore, the principle of exclusiveness from the perspective of genuineness has a particular interpretation in Islam: it is the submission before the commands of the Almighty God. The fact that some of the People of the Book have been severely criticized in the Holy Quran is because they insisted on their way and path and did not submit to the
command of God, despite the fact that they possessed certitude about God's commands and their responsibility towards them. Although they knew that the Prophet's sayings are true and knew him as well as they knew their own children and could find in him the signs given by the Old and New Testament (2:146), they did not submit to the truth; on the contrary, they tried to hide it. However, the Holy Quran and the law of Muhammad were meant to guide the People of the Book too. It is only through this new revelation that they could find guidance into the straight path. In this regard, the Holy Quran explicitly states: O People of the Book! Certainly Our Apostle has come to you, clarifying for you much of what you used to hide of the Book, and excusing many [an offense of yours]. Certainly there has come to you a light from God, and a manifest Book. With it God guides those who follow [the course of] His pleasure to the ways of peace, and brings them out from darkness into light by His will, and guides them to a straight path. (5:15 & 16)
but most people do not know. (34:28) We did not send you but as a mercy to all the nations. (21:107) Islam came when human beings had reached a level of understanding that could receive and protect the final message of God. Thus, the religion of Islam is not limited to a particular age, group or race. It belongs to human nature and all human beings may draw on its guidance. According to Shiite and Sunni traditions, Imam Mahdi (A) will command on the basis of the Quran while his religion will be the religion of Islam and will take measures towards establishing justice and equity all over the world. He will surmount all obstacles on the way of this great mission and bravely introduce the original teachings of Islam. He will eliminate the divisions and will unite all human communities on the basis of the great religion of Islam. Imam Ri (A) praying to God said: Oh God! Through him (Imam Mahdi) turn the Ummah's dispersion to continuity and division to unity; annihilate oppression and establish justice.18 Therefore, the plan of the promised Mahdi (A) for the world is to implement divine rules; he will call people to no religion but Islam. Logically, it goes without saying that it is not possible in any other way since the essence of religion is the same for all nations and races for the following reasons: firstly, no religion except Islam will be accepted by God; secondly, the truth of man who is created by God is an unchangeable one; thirdly, God is responsible for the development of this truth; fourthly, God will never be subject to ignorance, negligence and mistake but He is eternally aware of all truths. Therefore, God does not have two religions and does not issue two sets of commands at the same time. This fact is mentioned in the Holy Quran.19 It is the manifestations of religion that are perfected. It is not true to say that religion had been defective and then it was perfected. In other words, the truth of religion is one; sometimes its lower stages are revealed; other times its final stages is revealed: This day have I perfected your religion for you, completed My favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as the best religion (5:3) The conditions of an era change only the subsidiary rules of religion, and not the principles of religion. On the other hand, one might say since human being is a combination of soul and body, his soul depends on the metaphysical world which is stable throughout the ages and not affected by the passage of time. Thus, the causes and elements of its development should be looked for in metaphysics. However, his body is rooted in nature and place and therefore his material needs may change. Therefore, the laws which are related to the changing dimension of man are themselves diverse and changing. The principles of religion and the general guidelines of ethics, laws and jurisprudence, prescribed for the unchageable of human beings are fixed themselves because man is of a stable nature. But the laws which depend on the conditions and ways of human life are varying. 20
Messenger of God who has said: Whoever likes to lead a life like mine, have a death like mine and find his destination in the paradise they should follow Ali (A), be a company of Imam Ali's followers and follow the Imams after me who descend from my household.27 The Prophet said: Mahdi (A) is a member of our household; the same behind whom Jesus Christ, son of Mary, stands for prayer.28 The Prophet (S) also said: Mahdi is a descendent of my household and a son of Fatima; he will struggle on the basis of my way and method as my struggle was based on revelation. 29 In another tradition the Prophet said: He will uprise with the religion of Islam at the end of the world, as I moved with Islam at the beginning of Islam.30 It is clear then, according to these traditions, Imam Mahdi (AS) is a descendant of the prophet of Islam, that there will be a government of Islam at the end of the world and that there will be no other religion whatsoever. It can be understood from hadiths that the government of the Ahl al-Bayt will be the last government to implement justice and righteousness in the world.31 Imam Mahdi (A) will attempt to form a united Islamic ummah of the world and establish justice, peace and permanent coexistence among all nations and groups of any race, colour and culture. In this regard, Imam Sadiq states: God will elevate Islam after its trivialization through Imam Mahdi (A) and He will revive it after a period of isolation. 32 In the supplications about Imam Mahdi (A), we find that God is asked to hasten the appearance of Imam Mahdi (A) and thus the fulfilment of the divine promise so that in the light of such a government Islam and Muslims find again their greatness and elevation while the infidels and the hypocrites meet humiliation and trivialization. For instance, we find in the prayer of Iftith: Oh God! We ask you earnestly to establish an honourable government by which you honour Islam and Muslims and humiliate hypocrisy and the hypocrites; in that government make us of those who call for your obedience and guide into your path; blessed with such a government grant us gifts of grace in this world and in the hereafter. According to the hadith of Thaqalayn, the infallible Imams, especially Imam Mahdi (A), will never get separated from the Holy Quran. Thus, he will put an end to the isolation of the Holy Quran. This tradition is widely transmitted and has been registered in the famous Sunni and Shiite resources.33 Twenty three companions of the Prophet have narrated it directly from the Prophet. Therefore, there cannot be any doubt about the authenticity of the tradition. The infallible Imams are the true interpreters of revelation; they say nothing that contradicts the Holy Quran. Imam Ali (A) asserts: He (Mahdi) takes the opinion from the Quran when others impose their own ideas on it; he shows them the way of justice and revives the Book and the Sunnah which have been isolated and abandoned.34 Thus, since Imam Mahdi (A), like his forefathers, is the true interpreter of the Holy Quran and familiar with the secrets of the revelation and has access to the secret and the truth of the Quran, he will identify the inauthentic interpretations narrated after the demise of the
Holy Prophet up until the age of appearance. He will clarify the true meaning of the Quranic verses to the people. He will also struggle to implement the Holy Quran on earth accompanied by Jesus Christ, son of Mary. Thus, there will be a renaissance and a revival of the bright commands of Islam.
Conclusion
Reason dictates that we choose the more complete religion and prefer the more comprehensive and better divine law. Islam is the manifestation and the summary of the evolutionary development of past divine laws revealed to the great divine prophets by God at different ages and according to the conditions and intellectual and cultural capabilities of human communities. There exists ample evidence in the Holy Quran and the hadiths which imply that at the end, the righteous people will rule throughout the world. Any kind of polytheism will be eliminated from the entire world. Such a universal event will be realized by a descendent of the prophet of Islam. Thus, the doctrine of Mahdi and the belief in a one-world government is outstanding evidence which alludes to the fact that pluralism is baseless. It is because all will be called to one single religion. A single religion will govern the entire world. Jesus Christ, the son of Mary, will accompany and followthe Imam (A) and will invite his followers to accompany him (A) in this significant divine event. These are good enough reasons that religion is limited to the religion of Islam and thus the idea of religious pluralism is rejected. Therefore, Imam Mahdi (A) will lead humanity towards a just law, permanent peace and justice as well as ethical and spiritual virtues. 1. Muhammad Legenhausen, Islam and Religious Pluralism, p. 13 2. John Hick, Problems of Religious Pluralism, p. 36 3. Ibid., p. 34 4. Muhammad Legenhausen, Islam and Religious Pluralism, p. 96 5. Israa: 15, The Poets: 208, 209, The Story: 47, Taha: 134 6. Cattle: 20-21; Israa: 15, The Poets: 208, 209, The Story: 47, Taha: 134 7. The Cow: 111 8. Mabni-e Ma'refat-e Dini (Principles of Religious Knowledge) by Muhammad Husseinzadeh, p. 139 9. Majmueh Athr of Murtaza Mutahhari, vol. III, pp. 154-157 10. Dinshensi, Javadi Amuli, pp. 205-206 11. Counsel: 13. The same them can be found in the Cow: 132, the House of Imran: 67 and other verses. 12. Nahj al-Balghah, the Short Sayings, no. 125 13. Al-Futuht al-Makkiyyah, Muhyiddin al-Arabi, vol. III, pp. 152, 311 14. Tafsir al-Quran, Muhyiddin al-Arabi, vol. I, pp. 90, 79 15. Stoneland: 9 16. The Table: 3 17. The Clans: 40 18. Muhammad Muhammadi Reyshahri, Ahl al-Bayt in the Holy Quran and Hadith, vol.II, p. 789 19. The House of Imran: 19 & 85
20. Ibid., p. 191. 21. Mahajjah by Bahrani, p. 86 22. Bihr al-Anwr, vol. 52, p. 191. 23. Tafsir-e by Ayyashi, vol. II, p. 56 24. Sahih of Bukhari, Kitb al-Ahkm, vol. V, tradition no. 165 25. Usul-e Kfi, vol. I, p. 532 26. Ibid. p. 533. 27. Helyat al-Awliya, vol. I, p. 86 28. Majlisi, Bihr Al-Anwr, vol.51, p. 91 29. Bayn-e Shafei, p. 63 30. Bihr Al-Anwr, vol. 51, p. 78 31. Amli by al-Saduq, vol. III, p. 396 32. Bishrat al-Islam, p. 297 33. Sahih of Muslim vol. IV, p. 1873; Sahih of Tirmidhi, vol. V, p. 662, the chapter of Manqib Bayt Al-Nabi, tradition no. 3786 34. Ibn Abi Hadid, Sharh Nahj al-Balghah, vol. IV, p. 36
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